Connecticut WPA Art

Treadwell, Grace A. (1893-1989) Grace Treadwell was born in 1893 in West Chop, Massachusetts. She studied art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Students’ League in New York, and the Grand Chaumiere in Paris. She was a member of the Pen and Brush Club of New York City and the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA). She served as president of the latter from 194...

Covey, Arthur Sinclair (1877-1960) Arthur Sinclair Covey was born on June 13, 1877, in Leroy, Illinois. He studied at Southwestern College in Kansas and the Chicago Art Institute. In 1904 he studied in Munich, Germany. He went on to work as a staff artist for several publications then taught at the Chicago Art Institute and later at the London Art Institute. Upon returning fro...

Category: Artists Hackney, Malcolm (1913-1982) Malcolm Hackney was born in 1913. Before he joined the WPA Art Project he was a commercial artist and student at the Yale Art School. While living in New Haven he worked for the WPA from 1938-1939, doing most of his work for the Index of American Design. Hackney died in 1982. Sources: WPA Artist’s Work Card; Social Security De...

Guidone, Thomas (1898-1990) Thomas Guidone was born in Sorento, a Province of Naples, Italy on April 4, 1898. He moved to New Haven, Connecticut when he was three years old and was educated in the public schools. According to his daughter, Reverend Vera Niestemski, Guidone was fourteen not three years old when he came to America and was not educated in the public schools. In 1...

Boyer, Ralph Ludwig (1879-1952) Ralph Boyer was born in Camden, New Jersey on July 23, 1879. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where James Daugherty was a fellow student, and where Boyer met his future wife, Rebecca Hunt, who was also a student. He won the Cresson Scholarship for travel throughout Europe. When he returned Boyer took up portrait painting and ...

Gelman, Aaron (1899-1970) Aaron Gelman was born in Hartford, Connecticut on November 24, 1899. He left Hartford Public High School to go to sea, and he traveled in the Mediterranean and European countries earning “his seaman’s papers.” After returning to Hartford he finished high school and studied at the Hartford Academy of Art. Graduating from Hartford Public High School, Ge...

Sears (Adams), Elinor Lathrop (1902-1988) Elinor Lathrop Sears was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1902. She studied art as a student of Hale, Logan, Mora, and Calder and became known for her miniatures, pastels, and portraits. She was associated with the Lyme Art Association and exhibited there. Sears was also a member of the Hartford Art Society, the Connecticut Academy of ...

Nichols, Spencer Baird (1875-1950) Spencer Baird Nichols was born on February 13, 1875. He spent his childhood in Washington, D.C. He attended classes at the Corcoran School of Art and the Washington Art Students League. At the age of 17, he received a position as Instructor of Illustration at the League. He worked for the Geological Survey and the National Museum. Before th...

McCracken, William Weir Miskimmon (1906-1962) William McCracken was born April 4, 1906 in Belfast, Ireland. Before working for the WPA Federal Arts Project, he painted for the Public Works of Art Project. He was a graduate from the Yale School of Fine Arts in 1931. He was an instructor at the Famous Artists School for nine years. In the book, In Pursuit of Paradise: History ...

 McFarland, Mae (?)There is little known about this artist except that in 1936 she completed the mural The Six White Swans for the WPA Federal Arts Project. It consisted of four panels, each four feet by four feet, and was allocated to the Hindley School in Darien, Connecticut in 1939. McFarland’s date of birth and death are unknown. �Source: WPA Artist’s Work Card.Works of Art...